1 Overview
I had just received my passport and thought I should get a visa. Originally, I only dared to consider Southeast Asia, but then it suddenly occurred to me that even if I got a visa for Southeast Asia, I might not have the chance to go within its validity period. It would be better to get one with a particularly long validity… like the US…
As someone who is “three-no” (no house, no car, no assets), traveling alone, unmarried, and holding a blank passport (never visited any country)… my chances of approval were actually super low. I doubt any travel agency would even take my case. But the good thing about the US is that you don’t need a travel agency; you can handle it all by yourself.
I didn’t have high hopes and just wanted to give it a try. Pass or fail, it didn’t matter much. Even the photo for the DS-160 was just a casual shot taken by my roommate with a camera against the white wall in our living room… Thinking now that this photo will be on my visa for 10 years… I regret it so much…
The process for applying for a US tourist visa on your own is as follows:
- Take a photo (Instructions here)
- Fill out the DS-160 (https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/)
- Register an account on CGI (http://www.ustraveldocs.com/cn_zh/index.html?firstTime=No)
- Pay the visa fee
- Schedule interview appointment
- Attend the interview
- Wait for passport (Visa status check,Passport delivery tracking)
2 Before the Interview
On Thursday the 11th, I spent half an hour filling out the DS-160. It was actually quite simple, mostly basic information, just fill it out truthfully. I didn’t have a travel plan, so I selected ‘No’, and for the contact address, I simply entered the address of the InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco.
Then I paid the fee through the appointment system, which redirected me directly to CITIC Bank. Since I have a CITIC debit card, it was very convenient. I immediately booked the earliest available interview slot, which was the following Tuesday, the 16th, at 10:00 AM. I noticed that the slots before 10:00 AM had almost no appointments, with over 100 spots remaining each, so I figured the 10:00 AM slot wouldn’t require much waiting in line. As it turned out, I was right.
As the interview date approached, I found myself hoping more and more for a successful outcome. On Monday, I occasionally read online interview experiences and worried about various things… Later I realized that this information basically has no reference value and is severely outdated. Nowadays, they hardly look at any documents during the interview; they just want your passport to verify the DS-160 information. If they have questions, they will ask you directly, and a brief explanation suffices.
I started preparing documents on Monday night, but realized there wasn’t much to prepare: appointment confirmation letter, DS-160 confirmation page, passport, ID card, residence permit… that was it… In reality, only the passport and DS-160 were used… Seeing everyone else carrying so many documents, I probably had the fewest documents of anyone there…
3 Going to the Interview
Tuesday arrived. Since bags and digital devices like mobile phones or Apple Watches are not allowed inside (if brought, they must be stored at bag storage stalls downstairs), I decided to bring nothing at all. I put my documents in a clear folder, carried a card holder and keys on my person, and brought 50 yuan in cash… To avoid having to remove my belt during security checks, I didn’t even wear one and just headed out… I left home at 9:15 AM intending to take a taxi, but couldn’t find one downstairs, so I took the subway instead. Exiting from Exit 1 of West Nanjing Road Station and walking behind Plaza 66, I arrived at Fengxian Road around 9:45 AM. There was no line outside, and the sign indicated they were already processing the 11:00 AM slot. The staff checked my DS-160 confirmation page and stamped my hand with an invisible ink stamp that could only be seen under UV light. They handed me a security notice card, and I went upstairs.
On the 8th floor, there was a large room with very few people. Upon entering, they first shone a UV light on the stamp on my hand, then I entered Zone 1. Staff members searched for your passport number in a digital spreadsheet on a tablet, verified if the DS-160 confirmation number was correct, and wrote down the location corresponding to the barcode on a piece of paper. There were two staff members: one typing manually, and the other equipped with a Bluetooth scanner, which was obviously much faster… When lining up, make sure to queue behind the person with the scanner… The person doing manual entry really had it tough…
In Zone 2, staff found your barcode among a pile of them and stuck it on the back of your passport…
In Zone 3, they scanned the barcode to confirm it was valid, which counted as checking in, and then you proceeded to security.
Before security, grab a basket, put all your belongings inside, and then go through the checkpoint. You must walk through the metal detector without setting off the alarm, so if you’re wearing leather shoes with metal plates or a belt with a metal buckle, you’ll need to take off your shoes or remove your belt to pass.
4 The Interview
Only after passing security did the room become crowded… There were about 30 windows on the left and right sides, somewhat similar to a bank, except with better partitions between each window. First, fingerprints were taken: place the back of your passport against the glass, the staff inside scans the QR code, then place the four fingers of your left hand on the machine, followed by the four fingers of your right hand, and finally both thumbs, and you’re done…
Then came the line to see the VO (Visa Officer). This line was truly grueling; staff kept urging everyone to squeeze forward because there were too many people behind… Once you reached the front, staff assigned you to a specific window… Observing along the way, VOs had different styles: some were quite nice, while others looked stern and expressionless… For example, the one I was assigned to was a middle-aged white man. Several groups before me seemed to have been rejected, and he remained expressionless the whole time, without a single smile… A couple behind me was even discussing whether to switch to the adjacent window…
When it was my turn, I passed my passport in… The entire conversation went like this:
VO: Where are you going?
Me: San Fransisco
VO: What’s the purpose?
Me: Traveling and shopping
VO: Have you been to any other places before?
Me: You mean internationally?
VO: Of course (smiles)
Me: No
VO: Why US? Why United States is the first place you want to go? It’s expensive and far.
Me: Well I don’t think it’s that expensive. I’ve watched a lot of movies and TV series, there’re many places of interests that I familiar with, I’d like to see them in person.
VO: What’s your current job
Me: Technical director at an information technology company
VO: How long have you been working there?
Me: One and a half years.
VO: You’re approved.
Me: Thank you.
The entire interview process took less than 3 minutes. After coming out, I immediately took a taxi home~~~ From arriving at Plaza 66 to finishing, it took about 1 hour.
5 Waiting for Passport
You can check the status after returning home. On the same day, the query result will show Administrative Processing, and by the next day, it changes to Issued.
Then you just wait at home for EMS delivery or an email notification to pick it up at CITIC Bank.
I checked and saw the visa was Issued on the 17th, found out the passport had left the consulate on the 18th, and saw in the CITIC system on the evening of the 19th that it had arrived at the branch. I received an email notification to pick it up on the evening of the 19th and successfully collected my passport on the morning of the 20th.
6 Summary
I feel that getting a US tourist visa is quite easy nowadays.
The VO’s main task is to verify the content of your DS-160. They will ask directly or rephrase questions, and you must answer promptly.
It was obvious that the VO cared quite a bit about the blank passport. I felt the direction of my answers should emphasize that the focus was on ‘travel’ rather than just ‘going abroad’. I chose the US not because I didn’t want to go elsewhere, but specifically because I wanted to visit the US. I believe that if none of you have immigration intent, you can smoothly provide your own reasons.
I feel my advantages this time included: a passport issued in Shanghai, a good enough university, a good enough industry, sufficient income, and good enough English.
Regarding whether to use English during the interview…
- The primary function of language is communication. When a Chinese person communicates with an American, which language is used mainly depends on whether the Chinese person’s English or the American’s Chinese is better…
- The entire conversation must flow smoothly, without overly long pauses for thinking or recalling, but of course, don’t give the impression that you’ve obviously memorized scripted answers either.
Based on these two points, I personally was confident in my English proficiency. I felt that if I used Chinese, the other party might not fully understand my meaning, easily leading to ambiguity and unnecessary trouble, so I preferred to conduct the interview in English. Coincidentally, right after I answered ‘San Fransisco’ (I honestly couldn’t remember its Chinese name), the VO proactively switched to English, perfectly matching my expectations.
If your English is really poor and you’re just traveling, signing in Chinese is reasonable. However, if you don’t know any English at all, traveling solo to the US carries significant risks, and rejection is possible. Additionally, it’s hard to justify having a higher education degree but not knowing English. I even read posts where people claimed to be English majors yet couldn’t speak English… How could that not result in a rejection…
Overall, the US visa is still pretty easy to get. Once you have a US visa, obtaining visas for other countries becomes much easier too. Plus, airfares to the US have been so cheap lately; you can truly go whenever you want~~~
Expect overseas travel logs soon, hahaha.
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